Pet Emergency
Probably one of the worst things about an emergency is that they tend to occur at the most inconvenient times, such as when your usual veterinary practice is closed or cannot accommodate an urgent appointment. This can cause you to feel stressed and panicked, and you may end up looking around trying to find any vet at all that can see your pet. The problem with doing this is that you end up rushing into an appointment with a relatively unknown practice with no idea of how skilled or experienced their professionals are. This doesn’t guarantee the best care for your pet.
One of the best things that you can do is be prepared for a veterinary emergency by finding a local emergency vet service that you have researched and that you feel offer animals the quality of care that you would like before you need to call on their services. Have a plan!
What Constitutes a Veterinary Emergency?
One of the most difficult things for many owners is determining whether their pet needs an emergency appointment to be seen straight away, or whether it can wait until they can schedule a regular appointment. This is made even harder since our pets cannot tell us how they are feeling and are instead reliant on us picking up any symptoms that they have and making that decision on their behalf.
Emergency Vet Hours
At West Rome Animal Clinic, we partner with the Northwest Georgia Veterinary Emergency Center for any emergencies that arise outside of our usual operating hours. The NWGVEC’s opening hours are 5 pm until 8 am on weekdays and 24hours on weekends and all major holidays. Whether your emergency occurs inside our office hours or theirs, a brief telephone triage system is used to determine whether your pet needs to be seen immediately.
Common Veterinary Emergencies
In the meantime, here are some of the most common veterinary emergencies we see at our animal clinic in Rome, GA.
- Diarrhea/vomiting that lasts longer than 24 hours or is accompanied by other worrying symptoms
- Breathing problems
- Suspected/confirmed poisoning
- Inability to urinate
- Heatstroke
- Blunt force trauma that has caused concerning symptoms
- Obvious broken bones
- Sharp force trauma
- Seizures/loss of consciousness
- Obvious pain
It may be necessary for you to administer some immediate first aid before bringing your pet in to see your emergency vet. The team who answers your call will be able to tell you what you can do to help your pet and their instructions should be followed precisely. It is helpful to have a stocked first aid kit for your pet prepared in your home as this will contain some of the items that you might need to administer emergency treatment at home.
Items to include in your at-home pet first aid kit
The items in your pet’s first aid kit will be similar if not identical to many of those in a standard human kit.
At Home, Pet First Aid includes:
- Bandages
- Wound dressings
- Scissors
- Antiseptic wipes and spray
- Cotton pads
- Saline wash for wounds and eyes
- A bottle of water that can be used for rehydration, soothing burns, washing wounds and more
- Non-latex disposable gloves
- Thermometer
- Blanket
- Tweezers
Pet Emergencies in West Rome, GA
If you would like further information on what to do in the event of a pet emergency, or if you would like details on our emergency vet services, please don’t hesitate to contact our professional team by calling our offices in Rome, GA at (706) 235-8861.
